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University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
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ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY

Compensation for Academic Professional and Administrative Employees

Effective Date: October 1992
Last Update: May 2008
Responsible University Officer:
  • Vice President for Human Resources
Policy Owner:
  • Director, Human Resources Policy Development
Policy Contact:

Printed on: . Please go to http://policy.umn.edu for the most current version of the Policy or related document.

POLICY STATEMENT

This policy governs compensation for the Academic Professional and Administrative (P&A) employee group, with the exception of the professionals-in-training. Within the P&A employee group, academic professionals (93xx; 9621 – 9630) are compensated for their responsibilities enhancing the research, teaching, and service functions of the University. Academic administrators (93xx and 9631 – 9640) are compensated for their responsibilities in policy development or execution, or in directing, coordinating, or supervising activities within the University of Minnesota (University). Total compensation for P&A employees includes their annual base salary plus the value of their fringe benefits, including retirement, health and dental coverage, life and disability insurance, and other benefits as provided by the University. In some instances, annual base salary is augmented through internal sources, such as when additional responsibilities or set of administrative duties are temporarily added, or through payment received by sources outside the University as in the case of approved external consulting.

A P&A employee's initial annual base salary is negotiated at the time of hire. The annual salary program seeks to reward contributions of P&A employees. The assessed meritorious performance of duties and responsibilities associated with the position and performed by the position holder serves as the basis of annual merit-based salary increases or rewards. Increases to annual base salary for P&A employees may also occur in other ways such as the following: (1) in conjunction with a promotion; (2) in conjunction with the awarding of indefinite continuous appointment (3) through acceptance of a retention offer that includes a pay increase; (4) through base pay market adjustments; and (5) in addressing documented internal salary inequities. Parameters for compensation increases are approved by the Board of Regents based on recommendations of the administration.

Any salary determination process at the University must be non-discriminatory. Initial salary offers, periodic increases, and retention offers may not be based on considerations related to the race, sex, color, religion, national origin, sexual preference, or age of the person affected.

Administrative consultation with unit academic professional and administrative (P&A) employees (93xx, 96xx, and 97xx) is expected in developing:

  • the annual review process for unit P&A employees and
  • the unit annual compensation strategy which includes the awarding of merit pay based on performance.

REASON FOR POLICY

This policy implements Board of Regents Policies: Employee Compensation and Recognition, Employee Group Definitions, Employee Performance Evaluation and Development, and Employee Recruitment and Retention. The University strives to attract and retain a high performance workforce. As a part of this effort, the University works to achieve and maintain a compensation structure that, when combined with benefits and other rewards, is competitive relative to institutional peers and other appropriate labor markets.

PROCEDURES

FORMS/INSTRUCTIONS

There are no forms for this policy.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS

Subject Contact Phone Fax/Email
General Information or Procedural Assistance
  • Primary: Responsible administrator/supervisor
  • Secondary: Local campus, college, or administrative unit HR administrator
  • Other (as needed): Office of Human Resources specialist or consultant
Office of Human Resources Specialist and Consultant List Office of Human Resources Specialist and Consultant List
Market Survey
  • Human Resources Consultant
Office of Human Resources Consultant List Office of Human Resources Consultant List
Document Processing
  • HRMS Key Contact
  • Office of Human Resources Call Center
HRMS Key Contact List

DEFINITIONS

Annual Base Salary
The fixed compensation paid annually to an employee for performing specific job responsibilities. It does not include variable pay such as bonuses or incentive pay.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Unit Administration
  • Involve the P&A employee in developing information and guidelines for merit review and salary determination process.
Responsible Administrator/Supervisor
  • Determine salary at the time of initial hire and subsequent annual salary increases.
  • Review annually the performance of the P&A employee, as a determinant of merit increase.
  • Follow process for adjusting salary mid-year or making other pay adjustments.
Academic Professional or Administrative Employee
  • Participate in the unit’s yearly discussion with regard to information and process for annual performance review and merit adjustment to salary.

APPENDICES

There are no appendices for this policy.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

There is no FAQ for this policy.

RELATED INFORMATION

HISTORY

Amended:
May 2008 - Policy converted to the new University-wide format for administrative policies. The Administrative Policies: Academic Professional and Administrative Staff Compensation, Salaries Policy for Administrative Officers, Salary Setting and Salary Support for Central or Campus-Level Administrators, and Securing Salary Offer Approval were combined into this one policy with updates based on current practice.
Adopted:
October 1992 - Approved by the Academic Staff Advisory Committee (ASAC) on October 12, 1992.
Effective:
February 1994

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